Motor Sport & Sponsorship

There’s an old saying in motor racing… ‘the more money you have; the faster you go!’ This may be true (if you take away the element of also needing talent!) but times have changed. So, you need sponsorship to go racing right? It might be you running your racing out of a van or it could be you owning/managing a team? Well, it’s not all about you! It might feel like it is but, sorry to be the one telling you the truth here, it isn’t. Clearly you’re important but there is much more to it than putting the money in the bank, getting some stickers done and offering a few hospitality tickets. If you are a sponsor looking to get involved in motor racing these ‘tips’ are as valuable to you as they are to a driver, rider, pilot, team owner or Championship.

Here’s a few things to think about:

1. It is as hard to place sponsorship as it is to find it.
2. Know your business.
3. Timing.
4. Sponsorship decisions aren’t made in 5 minutes.
5. Sponsorship is a branding/marketing project (and doesn’t depend on the CEO/MD loving cars, boats, planes or bikes!)
6. If it’s only for a year it won’t work.
7. It’s not all about the racing.
8. Activation.
9. Integration.
10. Manage expectations.

This ‘Top 10’ isn’t it either, far from it… there is a lot to think about and even more to deliver. Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Activation is an important part of the marketing mix for many companies/brands and they know it well, know what they want to achieve and how much time and resource will be used. Before we get into the ROI (Return On Investment) let’s spend a little time thinking about the ROO (Return On Objectives). If you’re a sponsor; why are you doing it? If you’re looking for a sponsor; why will sponsorship be right for the company/brand you’re approaching? These simple questions are rarely asked before it’s too late. Everyone needs to be clear on the ‘fit’.

As with many business relationships a sponsorship program is often based on confidence, trust and people.

We have had situations when a sponsor has wanted to be involved and there hasn’t been an opportunity (there’s many reasons for this)… there hasn’t been a natural ‘fit’. We’ve also had the situation where everything appeared to fit and there was a clear business logic for both parties to ‘do the deal’ and it still didn’t happen (there’s many reasons this can happen too!). Sponsors need help in finding the right audience and in delivering their message/brand within the selected sport just as much as the asset or property (that’s you!) needs help in finding that sponsorship partner and in delivering a marketing communications program across all the platforms that businesses/brands have available to them. If you want to know more we have over twenty five years experience in sponsorship and brand/marketing communications in motor racing (F1, MotoGP, BSB, NASCAR, Le Mans amongst others) – we’d be happy to talk to you.